Nightmares
by ZehHyperactiveAuthor
Summary: Raven honestly didn't know what to make of him. One moment, he was the most immature person she'd ever met, and the next he was wiser than all of them. He was completely clueless, but he could see right through her. Thinking about it made her nervous, so she just decided to completly ignore the subtle hints he gave. Then the nightmares began. And suddenly...everything changed.
1. Empathy

**Me****: At the age of seventeen, I, ZehHyperactiveAuthor, four years running fan fiction writer, have discovered Teen Titans. It. **_**Rocks**_**. **

**For all those who don't know me, I came up this in the middle of the night and I had, **_**had**_**, to write it down. I had fun.**

**For all those who **_**do**_** know me, no, my other stories aren't dead. I'm just having trouble writing them with Teen Titans characters running circles in my brain. Give it awhile. I promise I'll get back to them.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, there would be twice as many moments between Beast Boy and Raven, and Starfire would be a liiiiitle more forceful with Robin.**

**Enjoy!**

_Prologue_

Raven honestly didn't know what to make of him. He was too random, too complicated. One moment, he was completely irritating, and the next…It was like he'd become a different person.

Beast Boy hadn't always been so confusing. At first, his personality was pretty straightforward. He was a jokester, an immature prankster who never knew when to stop talking and was only funny when he _wasn't_ trying to be. He was whiny and childish and irritating.

And then they grew up.

It had been hard to see, at first. She'd almost missed it. It'd seemed like the green nuisance would never change. He was still obsessed with video games, pranking, and tofu. He still told jokes and watched stupid movies. He still didn't know when to shut up.

However, somewhere amidst the chaos, he had started to mature. She supposed it'd been happening in little ways since they met, but she never really took notice until the incident with Malchiore.

That had really been a wake-up call for her. Apologizing, checking up on her, _noticing_ that something was wrong…Those just weren't things that Beast Boy did. And after she was betrayed, when all the others thought it best to give her space, _Beast Boy _was the one to comfort her, refusing to let her stay locked in her room, telling her she wasn't alone.

She'd really started to pay attention after that. In the days that followed, he'd quickly reverted to his normal, idiotic ways, and she wondered if she might've imagined it. And then, he'd snapped, and that _beast_…

After that, she began to see it everywhere. First there was the incident with Trigon, then his old patrol…Suddenly, he wasn't a child anymore. He was a young adult who seemed to know what he was doing…_most_ of the time.

His biggest display of maturity was at the final battle against the Brotherhood of Evil. Not only did he thwart the Brotherhood's attempts to capture him, he actually led, _led_ the scattered Titans into battle. He gave orders, listened to advice, and gave everyone hope when everything seemed hopeless, only relenting when Robin regained command.

Somewhere amidst the insanity and chaos, with all that they'd been through together, she started to grudgingly respect him.

Then the nightmares began.

And suddenly…Everything changed.

XXxxXXxxXX _Chapter 1_ XXxxXXxxXX

No matter what she told you, no matter how much she tried to deny it, Raven was never really the same after the incident with Trigon.

She'd thought that after he'd been defeated, after she no longer had that prophecy of destruction hanging over her, she would finally be at peace. She was wrong. The crumbling city, the fire, the emptiness, the cries of her friends, they forever burned in the back of her mind. It had all been destroyed, _everything_ was gone, and it was all her fault.

She had never wanted to die more than on that day. Her whole life, those she loved had foretold how she would bring the destruction of the cosmos, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Watching it happen, _causing_ it, had torn a hole deep inside her. The prophecy haunted her every waking step, even after it had been fulfilled.

It was only logical she'd have bad dreams.

From the day her father destroyed everything, the day she lost hope, the day her friends were forced to fight the darkest parts of themselves, from that day onward she had nightmares. Flashbacks, visions, horrors, the very darkness within her haunted her dreams. Everything that meant pain to her returned every time she closed her eyes. She began to dread sleeping, usually only lasting half the night before giving up completely.

Because of her normal, emotionless state, Raven didn't have much trouble hiding her discontent. At night, when her friends were asleep, she would fight her own, internal 'demons'. By day, everything was fine. She was Raven, completely normal, irritable, sarcastic, and serious.

However, little by little, her small secret started to create a rift between her and the other teammates. It was barely noticeable at first, progressing so slowly, but it gradually grew wider and wider. At first, she'd been alarmed, scared even to see her friends slipping away from her. Now, however, the distance simply made her feel safe, as it once had. She instinctually reverted into her shell, retracting to protect herself, to protect those around her, as she'd been raised to do. She was meant for being alone; it was easier for everyone.

No one knew, no one ever suspected the distance she'd created. She preferred it that way. The empath was tired of being pitied, of being a child that needed protecting. She could handle it. She would. And nobody would be the wiser. Or…so she thought.

Beast Boy noticed _immediately_. At first, he'd played it off as aftershock. She'd just experienced something horrific; she had every right to be a little more tense than usual, a little edgier. He let her slip away; she needed space. He told himself to not bother her for once, figuring this was something she would eventually get over.

Big mistake.

At first, she'd seemed to just be putting a bit of distance between herself and her teammates, but then he blinked, and suddenly, she was far away, unreachable, simply existing in the same building as them, barely acknowledging their presence.

He found himself wishing she would get angry with him; anything was better than the empty stares they'd all been growing accustomed to. He began to pester her, constantly, trying to get a spark of recognition from her. Instead of getting riled up, like she was supposed to, she'd just brush him off like a fly, emotionlessly dismissing his attempts at including her.

It actually frightened him. They'd all been through so much, and now here she was, slowly shutting down. He blamed himself. He should've said something. He was the one who noticed; it was his responsibility. The one time he'd decided to give her space was the one time she didn't need it.

After a year, he couldn't take it anymore. The changeling felt like they were losing her, and if he didn't do something, she'd slip away completely and he'd never get her back.

So, after a year of keeping his mouth shut, he finally said something.

"Raven?"

Raven jerked slightly, startled, her tea sloshing in its mug. Beast Boy? What was…? Confused, she glanced at the kitchen clock. 2:00 AM. For a moment, she kept staring at it, wondering if it was broken. No…it was really two in the morning. What was Beast Boy doing up at two in the morning?

"Uh…Hellooo? Earth to Raven!"

She jerked back again at the pair of fingers snapping in front of her face, then turned to glare at him. Great…All she'd wanted was to sip her soothing tea and calm herself down. The last thing she needed right now was the little green irritant pestering her. She was jumpy enough as it was. Besides, after just managing to escape the horrors her most recent nightmare, she wasn't quite ready to face anyone yet.

"What?" she grumbled, annoyed.

The changeling was wearing a peculiar expression. He bit his lip, eyes narrowed slightly, looking uncharacteristically serious. "…What're you doing up so early?"

For a second, she blanked, forgetting her prepared response to a question like this. Then, she remembered wasn't _supposed_ to respond. "I could say the same about you," she pointed out irritably. "What on earth could possible posses you to be awake at this ungodly hour?" Turn the question around. Make it about them. The hostility came naturally to her.

For a moment, Beast Boy stared at her, the corners of his mouth tilted in the smallest of frowns. The look he gave made her suddenly uncomfortable, like he could see something she couldn't. Then, he grinned, holding up a wireless controller. "Dude, I just _totally_ beat fifteen levels on Mega Monkeys 5! I swear, these things are getting _easier_! The boss only took me, like, _five minutes_!"

She rolled her eyes. Of course. _Videogames_. He probably hadn't even gone to sleep yet.

…

Which meant he'd been here the whole time. She peered at him inquisitively, suspicious, but if he'd seen her come in trembling and gasping, trying to pull herself together, he didn't give any indication. He just grinned at her giddily, holding up the controller like a trophy.

She put her glare back in place. Okay, she was officially done talking. She needed to be alone again; she was already beginning to feel suffocated by the presence of another person. "You _do_ realize we have somewhere to go tomorrow?" At his blank look, she sighed. "The _meeting_? In Gotham City?"

His eyes lit up. "Oh, that!" He shrugged. "Naw, it's no big deal. I'm part animal. I don't need much sleep."

Raven raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask why then he never woke up before ten.

He grinned at her, folding his arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. "So what's your excuse?"

For a moment, she blinked, suddenly realizing he'd completely brushed off her subtle hints to be left alone. But then, this was Beast Boy. Subtle hints never really worked on him.

Oh. Right. She'd been asked a question. She was awake too. She took a moment to close her eyes and calmly sip her tea, stalling, and never saw his worried frown. She could simply ignore him, but then he'd probably pester her until she either relented or hurt him, and she really didn't feel like throwing him through the ceiling right now. She sighed internally, mulling over her options before finally deciding on honesty.

Raven cracked an eye open. "Couldn't sleep." _Almost_ honesty. Just enough honesty to satisfy him without giving anything away.

He frowned at her, apparently not satisfied, and that penetrating look returned, making her skin crawl. "Why not?"

The way he asked made it sound like he already knew the answer. Raven frowned, irked that he was digging into her carefully constructed shield. Couldn't he just drop it? Didn't he see she just wanted to be left alone? Again, she pushed for nonchalance, hoping to play it off as nothing. "Just a dream." She shrugged and sipped her tea, then though she might've said too much. There was only one reason a dream would keep you awake…She hoped he was too dense to notice her slip.

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed as he studied her, and she wondered briefly why she was getting so much attention from him. Sure, he'd been bugging her a lot lately, but now he was making a point to see how she was doing, and it unnerved her. She wasn't used to being in the spotlight; she hadn't for a very long time. _Had_ he seen her come in? Was that why he was suddenly so suspicious?

After a moments more silence, Beast Boy's expression softened into something she couldn't quite place. "You know he's gone, right Rae?"

Everything stopped.

The words shattered the silence abruptly, dropping heavily around her. The breath caught in her throat as her shield was suddenly proven useless. She froze, unable to keep her eyes from widening in shock as his quiet question sunk in. What…?

"It's over," he continued, his posture full of finality. He took a step closer to her, trying to meet her eyes, to get her to understand. "We _beat _him. Disaster averted. _End of story_."

Raven couldn't speak, staring ahead with the tea to her lips. Was he talking about…? No. He couldn't be. He…He must be talking about someone else. Who did they defeat recently? She couldn't think of anything but petty criminals. Brother Blood had been their last big battle, and he knew she wouldn't be worried about _them._ And he _certainly _couldn't be talking about…

She blinked, the meaning behind his words suddenly registering. Each declaration he made slowly sunk into her skin. He was comforting her. _Beast Boy_ was comforting her, or trying to. He must've seen her come in, wild-eyed and desperate. It was the only explanation. No matter how big the rift had grown, no one could see her like that and _not_ try to help. Especially not Beast Boy. It was against his nature.

Cheeks hot with embarrassment, she whirled to glare at him, her natural shield easily sliding into place, trying to cover just how shaken she was. "What are you talking about?" The demand came out bitter, but there was fear behind her words.

He didn't respond to her hostility, only smiling slightly. "Like you don't know." He leaned forward, worry etched across his features as he studied her. "…You've been having nightmares? Dude…No wonder you're so tense."

She took a step back, feeling vulnerable and exposed under his gaze. He knew about the nightmares? She stared at him incomprehensively. Who was this strange, empathetic person and what did he do with Beast Boy? How was he reading her so well? It didn't make any sense!

"I'm…it…It's just a dream!"

"Yeah, and that's why you're _totally_ freaking out right now."

She glared at him, desperate to defend herself, to withdraw. "What do _you_ know?"

He calmly folded his arms and stared at her. "I know you haven't been the same since Trigon."

The room went completely silent. His gaze was challenging, daring her to retaliate, but she had no words. It had been a year since…_Trigon._ Did this mean he'd known she'd been off the whole year? Had he noticed the rift? Wait, wasn't this _Beast Boy_ she was talking to?

Raven flinched at the name of her father, trying to find words. "I…I'm…" She sighed, realizing that if he already knew this much, then there really wasn't any point in pretending. "I'm working on it," she admitted quietly, afraid to meet his eyes. After an entire year of keeping to herself, talking of her emotions was leaving her reeling. Part of her mind was still in shock, trying to recover from having its shield so abruptly shattered.

She could feel his stare on her. After an eternity of silence, she gathered her courage and returned it, looking bolder than she felt. She could barely remember the last time she'd felt so nervous. How had this person managed to break her so completely?

Beast Boy was looking at her with a soft, near affectionate smile.

Raven had no idea how to deal with that. So, she attempted to reassemble the shattered remnants of her shield with a vicious glare.

His smile wavered slightly as he seemed to wince. "…Anything I can do to…uh…help?"

She scowled at him. "You can _quit bothering me_."

The changeling flinched again, but nodded quietly, and she knew he'd leave her alone for the time being. That was good, because she really needed to _think_.

The empath just couldn't come to terms with the fact that, out of all of her teammates, it had been _Beast Boy_ who'd noticed the differences in her. Even Robin, with his superior powers of deduction hadn't suspected a thing.

As bewildered as the notion made her, she couldn't help but recall a previous experience, one over a year ago, that held surprising similarities. Hadn't Beast Boy been the one to comfort her when Malchiore had used her? She could still picture him, nervously scratching the back of his head, admitting sheepishly that he kinda maybe had been spying on her, just to make sure she was okay. He hadn't trusted Malchiore from the start.

And for that matter, wasn't Beast Boy the one who gave her hope, on the darkest day of her life?

_The cool penny pressed into her hands, and she felt him curl her fingers around it, clasping her hand with his own. He'd given her a confident and completely innocent smile. __**"For luck,"**__ he'd said, and had left her standing there with the warmth of his hands lingering on hers._

It was actually interesting, now that she thought about it. He'd always made a point to look out for her, hadn't he? _Well, if that's the case,_ her mind thought, unbidden, _Then where has he been in the last year?_ She was surprised at the bitterness in that question, but if she was honest with herself, a part of her had been hurt that he'd seemed to have forgotten her…

"Uh…Raven?"

Oh, right. He was still here. She frowned at him, still a little peeved he'd read her so easily. Yes, that was it. She wasn't hurt at all. Just irritated.

The teen squirmed under her scowl, seeming nervous for some reason. Oh, what did he want _now_? Hadn't he done enough, hadn't _she_ done enough to satisfy his stupid concerns for the time being? When he bit his lip, though, she couldn't help but relent somewhat. Since when did that little fang become so endearing?

"Listen, uh…," he stuttered, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "I know this _totally_ isn't my thing, but…um…" He bit his lip again, staring at her.

Raven, meanwhile, was mentally thrashing herself for calling this action '_endearing_'. Oh, Azar, what was wrong with her? She narrowed her eyes, more annoyed at herself then him. "_What_?" she urged. It came out harsher than she intended and he flinched slightly. She sighed. One moment, he was the bravest person she knew, but the next he could be an outright pansy. "What is it?" she asked again, more gently this time.

A second's more hesitation passed, then his eyes narrowed in resolve. "Look, I know I'm probably the _last_ person you'd want to tell _anything_, but…" He leaned forward against the counter, willing her to see the sincerity in his expression. "If you ever need to…talk…or whatever…You know I'll always be there to listen…right?"

Well…That was completely unexpected. Words entirely deserted her. All she could do was nod quietly, and do her best to stuff the proposition in 'mull over later'.

In a flash, his grin returned. "Awesome. Uh…Yeah so…" He held up the remote, nearly forgotten on the counter. "Um…Glad I got _that_ out of the way. I was really, uh…_worried_ and…_Yeah_." He laughed nervously, scratching behind his head, and quietly slinked back to the couch to push play.

The hectic sound of gaming filled the air, breaking the empty silence and interrupting the chaos of Raven's thoughts. She subconsciously walked back to her room, still in a daze from the entire night's events.

What just happened?

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

The next day, the two carried on like it was nothing. Stupid jokes, sarcastic remarks, business as usual. Nevertheless, every now and then, she'd catch him frowning at her, contemplating something. Like it still wasn't resolved.

That unnerved her, it really did. Because if there was one thing she knew about Beast Boy…

He never left things unresolved.

**Me****: *demented giggle* *rubs hands together* This is going to be **_**fun**_**….**

**Truth is, I watched (nearly) every episode, and I had pretty much the same thoughts Raven did in the prologue. Sure, he's an idiot, but sometimes he's just randomly wise. **

**Also, in The Beast Within, I find it…**_**interesting**_** that Raven was the only one Beast Boy's 'beast' form **_**didn't**_** attack. In fact, he was trying to **_**protect **_**her. Yeah, just thought I'd put that out there. ;)**

**Hey, Readers! See that shiiiiiiiiiiny blue button down there? Poke it!**

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	2. Solace

**Me:**** Wow. Teen Titans is a lot more popular than I first thought…YAY! I'm not weird! *cough* Anyway…You're enthusiasm and large number of reviews made me decide to update this story instead of another. Well done. *applauds* Enjoy!**

_Three Days Later…_

_Fire. Smoke. Pain. She could feel it burning, clawing around inside her. Tearing her apart from within._

"_**What you have concealed you shall become.**__"_

"_No…" Her voice was weak. Frail. Ragged from coughing._

"_**You have no other choice. Your destiny will be fulfilled. The portal must be opened!**__"_

"_No!" Her cloths were tattered, in ruins. Tattoos carved their way up her body, searing into her flesh, becoming apart of her._

"_**Honestly…**__" The voice was mockingly gentle, like chiding a child. "__**Did you really think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away?**__"_

_She was on the crumbled ruins of the tower, on her hands and knees, watching._

"_**Today…is the day it begins.**__"_

_As her city burned._

"_**You've known this all your life.**__"_

_As the people turned to stone._

"_**It IS going to happen.**__"_

_As her friends were taunted with their own fears._

"_**And no matter what you wish…No matter where you go. No matter how you SQUIRM…There is nothing…You can do…To stop it.**__"_

_She screamed, hands on her head as voices haunted her._

"_**The skies will burn.**__"_

"_**Flesh will become stone.**__"_

"_**The sun will set on your world…Never to rise again.**__"_

_Now she was running, her feet raw and bloodied. Four-eyed ravens chased after her, their talons reaching… _

"_**Time won't run away forever. You CAN'T run away from WHO YOU ARE.**__"_

_She was pinned, metal hands digging into her arms, forcing her to watch as everything burned. Everything…__**Everyone **__was__** gone**__.__She was completely and utterly alone. _

_So alone. _

_So very, __**very**__ alone._

_Her captor leaned down and whispered in her ear._

"_**You're going to destroy the world, Raven. It's written all over your face.**__"_

"_NO!"_

"_**Oh…And Happy Birthday.**__"_

Raven awoke with a cry, gasping. For several long minutes, she just lay there, trembling, her eyes wide and panicked, empty hands clutching the sheets. Cold sweat dripped off her nose.

The only sound was her ragged breathing. Moonlight drifted through the window. The silence filled her, slowly driving her mad.

She felt completely and utterly alone. She clenched again, suddenly filled with a wild desperation to see someone. _Any_one.

_Everything was stone. She was the only one left. The only one…_

Raven closed her eyes, blocking the images, willing herself to calm down.

_Alone…_

Deep breaths. It was just a dream.

_The only one…_

That day was over. They won.

_Alone…_

Everything's fine now.

…Isn't it?

As she lay on her mattress, staring up at the ceiling, she slowly called herself back to the land of the living, drawing out of her nightmares. Little by little…breath by breath…She reminded herself that everything was over, and that she could deal with it.

_Alone…_

As she slowly awoke, Raven started to become aware of her surroundings. Her sheets were falling off her bed, half tangled with her legs. The ticking of the clock filled the air. What time was it? One? Two? She sighed, again considering redecorating her less-than-welcoming room as he observed the masks and ravens and strange, haunting paintings. But then, wasn't that the point? If her room was unwelcoming, then no one would bother her. She would be left at peace.

_Alone…_

Okay, she needed tea. Calming, soothing, herbal tea. She couldn't survive a minute longer without it. Sighing, she tried to put her bed back in order, searching for her pillow. It must've fallen on the floor. Groaning, she rolled slightly, to reach over her bed.

She stared.

Lying on his back, with his head on her pillow, looking very sheepish, was Beast Boy.

He laughed nervously. "Er…Hi."

She stared, blinking owlishly, her mind not quite awake. The changeling bit his lip and quickly returned her pillow. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words would come out.

Beast Boy was in her room. In _her_ room. There he was, _right there_, now propped up on his elbow, his entire frame shadowed dramatically, yet incased in the glow of moonlight that made his untamable hair almost shine. For some reason, her throat was suddenly very dry. It must have been the shock.

For a moment, he stared back at her, seeming to be weighing his options. Then, he stood slowly, folding his arms with a playful glare. "You…weren't thinking about getting up…Were you?"

She slowly sat up, staring. No words.

Still wearing that reprimanding, sheepish half-smile, he gathered up her blankets, now in a heap on the floor, and started straitening them out. He _knew_, he _must_ know she would positively _kill_ him for this…But he didn't seem to care. One look at his face, his shy, yet serious expression, and Raven knew he was here for a purpose. A purpose that seemed to be worth getting thrown out the window.

Raven finally seemed to find her voice. "…I don't remember giving you _permission_ to be in _my room_." It was supposed to be threatening, the voice she usually used to make friend or foe quake with terror, but shock seemed to reduce it to shaky and small.

He grinned, seeming entertained by this notion, something that annoyed her to no end. She knew she should throw him out right then and there, but something made her hesitate. Maybe it was the way he was fixing her messed up sheets. Maybe it was the way he'd suddenly pulled them up and around her shoulders. Maybe it was how gentle he suddenly seemed, even underneath that cunning grin.

"Feel free to kick me out."

She kept staring, tracing every line of his face, trying to read what exactly was going on behind that teasing smile.

"There." He tucked the blanket around her before giving her a no-nonsense look. "Now go back to sleep."

"Beast Boy…"

"Shhhh…," he commanded, gently pushing her down, and the contact seemed to wake her up. "You need your rest," the teen continued. "It's not good for you to wake up so early."

She stuttered, her mind suddenly remembering to be angry. "I…**You**…_What_!?"

"Sleep," he continued, interrupting her with a small, nervous smile. For a moment, she studied his expression, wondering again just what _was_ it was she was seeing. "…And I promise…" He grinned, stepping back. "I'll…Be here when you wake up."

Before she could even think of responding, he disappeared, dropping to the floor. After blinking blanking for a few seconds, she peered over the edge of her bed. A rather large green dog was curled up on the carpet next to her, its eyes already closed, slowly drifting off.

Once again, the ticking of the clock filled the air.

Silence fell gently around the room. Still, she stared at the living creature below her, trying to wrap her mind around the nights events. Beast Boy. He'd come into her room, breaking her most _sacred _rule, to…to…What?

To tuck her in.

To put her back to sleep.

To tell her he'd be there when she woke up.

As she frowned incomprehensively, another memory quietly pushed her nightmares away, tapping her on the shoulder. Instantly it filled her mind. _And there he was, eyes twinkling, grinning at her with a Cheshire smile, hands folded behind his back, nervously twisting themselves. A colorful party hat flattened his ever-untamable hair._

"_**You may not like your birthday, but we're all glad you were born.**_"

For a moment longer, she stared at the dog, watching it breath in and out. In a minute or so, the dog's image wavered, slowly returning to it's natural human state as it truly fell asleep. Beast Boy was curled up where the dog had been, his expression peaceful, mouth slightly open, completely highlighted by the moon.

For some reason, Raven felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She pushed it away, pulling the covers over once more, not letting herself think about all the boundaries the changeling had crossed. Just this once, she wanted to pretend she didn't have any. Laying on her pillow in the peaceful silence, she listened to her _companion's_ breathing: steady, constant, _there_. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep. She didn't dream.

_Cause I'll be by your side,_

_Whenever you fall,_

_In the dead of night,_

_Whenever you call,_

_And please don't fight,_

_These hands that are holding you._

_My hands are holding you._

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Raven woke to the sunlight shining in her eyes. She squinted and groaned, rolling over to bury her face in the pillow, not quite ready to wake up. Her pillow had a…familiar scent.

_Beast Boy_.

The thought was like a bucket of ice water dumped on her eyes snapped open as last night's events suddenly came rushing back to her.

_Beast Boy._

She groaned again, this time with self-loathing. What had she been _thinking_? Oh, _Azar_, did she really let Beast Boy, _Beast Boy_, sleep in her room? _Her_ room? On _her_ floor? Beside _her_ bed? _Beside_ her _bed_?

What was _wrong_ with her?

Now fully awake, she swallowed as a phrase echoed through her mind.

"_I'll be here when you wake up._"

She whirled to the side, peering over the edge of her bed. She saw shoes. She blinked, then slowly followed the shoes up, till her eyes came to rest on the small, steaming mug in his hands. He was smiling, not his usual, 50-kilowatt smile or his playful, teasing grin, but a small, shy smile that didn't seem to belong on his face.

"You…uh, kinda slept in so…" He bit his lip and offered her the mug. She took it slowly, automatically, still staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably, wringing his hands behind his back, his gaze shifting between her and the floor.

This was the second time in two days he'd given her that look.

After an eternity, she tore her incomprehensive gaze away from him to stare at the mug. Tea. He'd made her herbal tea. _Beast Boy_ had made her…No matter how she thought it, it didn't make sense.

Raven sighed deeply, suddenly very tired, and leaned forward, eyes closed, head in her hand. "…What are you doing, Beast Boy?"

She glanced tiredly at him to see him looking guilty. He carefully knelt down to her eye-level. "I'm sorry."

She blinked in surprise, watching as his gaze shifted moodily to the bedspread. "Sorry?" she echoed, completely lost. "For what?"

He glanced up at her, and his look made her tense. She knew that look. She'd rarely seen it, but she new it so well.

It was the look Beast Boy had given her, apologizing through her door for her own broken heart. It was the look Robin had given her when he couldn't save her from her terrible nightmare of a birthday. It was the look Terra had given Beast Boy as she'd slowly stepped back into Slade's territory.

Deep and utter regret.

"I'm sorry for not being there."

_Oh._

They both knew what he meant.

For a moment, neither said a word, staring intensely at each other. Raven suddenly felt a hurt that she'd been pretending didn't exist. _Where were you all last year? Did you even see me? Did you even know? Were you as blind as the rest?_

Raven shut her eyes involuntarily, trying to drown the flood of bitter questions that suddenly itched to break free. She had no idea what she must look like, closing her eyes at his words. For a few moments, she wrestled with that hurt, trying to stuff it back in the vault, under the layers where it belonged.

Her eyes snapped open when she felt the warm touch on her face. Beast Boy was mere inches away from her, leaning in as close as he could get without making his image blur. Every line, every indentation on his face was standing out plain as day. If she looked closely, she could see evidence of small scars here and there, nicks and scratches that had never fully healed, leaving behind thin, discolored lines.

He was gazing at her intently, his penetrating stare three times worse from up close, searching her eyes like they held the key to the universe. She flushed hotly, unable to help herself. No one had ever looked at her like that before. It certainly didn't help that his bare hand had reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, and was now resting contentedly, like it belonged there, absentmindedly running a thumb down the side of her face.

For long minutes, they stayed like that, deathly silent. One was blissfully unaware of his surroundings, the other so completely transfixed on the increasingly bewildering, mysterious person in front of her.

Her breath caught when he spoke, his words murmured and low. "I'm going to fix this." 'This' being whatever it was he'd found, deep in her eyes. It was a promise, whether to himself or to her, she didn't know, but his stare had morphed from searching to a determined passion that made it impossible for her to move. When that look of absolute ferocity suddenly became a devilish grin, her heart skipped a beat.

He was too close. He was much, _much_ too close and, _oh_ _Azar,_ he was grinning that stupid grin of his with the glinting _fangs_ and the eyes and…She took a deep, shuddering breath, not even blinking.

His grin widened, his fangs suddenly looking sharper as his eyes took on the glow of a challenge. "I'm going to get my Raven back," he announced quietly, and Raven registered one thing before anything else. Tea. His breath smelled like herbal tea. Beast Boy had tasted her herbal tea. In that moment, she nearly broke into a hysterical fit of laughter, because this whole situation was so absolutely insane; she had to be going crazy.

He must have seen her twitch, because he raised an eyebrow, smiling lightly at her, and his thumb began lightly trailing her jawbone. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that he'd just given her another reason to send him through the roof, but right now she was too focused on trying not to react. He was certainly testing her now, his thumb trailing patterns on her cheek as he grinned, his eyes whisking over her face, searching for a response.

When his grin widened, she realized with hot embarrassment that she'd blushed. She had _blushed_. At _Beast Boy_.Okay, _now_ she was going to kill him. Stupid hormones…

"Beast Boy," she half-growled.

He grinned at her, seeming completely comfortable mere inches from her face. "Mmmm?"

Raven grit her teeth, embarrassed and angry and still acutely aware of his thumb lazily stroking her cheek. "Back. _Off_."

Maybe it was that he was closer to her, both physically and, in some sense, mentally. Maybe it was because he had already taken so many risks that day. Or, maybe he was just incredibly stupid. Whatever the reason, Beast Boy seemed to be feeling extremely brave today as he asked, without a trace of fear, "Why?"

Two seconds later, the changeling screamed like a girl as he flew, involuntarily, out the nearest window.

Raven listened until the telltale morph and flap of wings before slamming the window shut. Then, she spent the next two hours sitting cross-legged on her bed, holding her still-warm tea that had been nearly forgotten in her hands, and tried to convince herself that he hadn't effected her the way he did, that this was all just some twisted dream, that she didn't think of his smile as endearing.

That he hadn't said all of that to her.

_**My**__ Raven…_

_Oh, __**Azar. **_

**Me:**** I rewrote this chapter at least three times. It's a good thing, because the entire morning scene was completely different in the first draft. And it was **_**terrible**_**. *shivers* Also, I have to say I TOTALLY enjoyed writing that last scene. **

**Up Next: **_**Beast Boy starts taking things seriously.**_

**Now go click the inspiration button. Remember, your reviews help shape the next chapter.**

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